More than any other major form of transportation, air travel restricts or discourages the mobility impaired. The accessibility barriers created by air travel have proven to be so severe that many of those who are physically disabled avoid flying entirely. With improved recognition of rights of disabled people, many public forms of transportation have been modified to provide equal access. However, modifications have not included any system or device that provides unhindered access into and within aircraft. Previously considered insignificant or unimportant by the airline industry, over 21 million Americans who suffer from mobility impairments deserve convenient and barrier-free travel.
Physical transfers present some of the most challenging issues experienced by mobility impaired users during air travel. Because a standard wheelchair is too wide to fit or maneuver down a typical aircraft aisle, it is necessary that some other devices be used for boarding and deplaning mobility impaired passengers-none of which have been dramatically improved upon or re-designed in decades. Depending upon the type of disability, a passenger is usually transferred from one seat or device to another a minimum of four times during any given trip. The transfer process currently involves four types of devices typically provided by an airline carrier: standard airport wheelchairs as shown in FIG. 1, boarding or aisle chairs (a narrow, wheelchair-like device used to transport the mobility-impaired passenger between the airport terminal gate, via sky bridge or aircraft steps, onto the aircraft and up to the aircraft seat) as shown in FIG. 2, a standard aircraft seat as shown in FIG. 3, and narrow, in-flight wheelchairs used for mobility within the aircraft (most often collapsible and stored within an aircraft closet) as shown in FIG. 4. The aisle chair or boarding chair, as shown in FIG. 2, particularly remains one of the most dreaded pieces of equipment within the travel process due to both aesthetics (restrictive and institutional), lack of comfort, and functionality.
FIG. 5 shows current locations within the airport and aircraft where physical transfers of mobility-impaired passengers often take place. Upon arrival to an airport 56, a passenger would typically be transferred from the vehicle that brought them to airport into a personal wheelchair or assistive device 58. From a personal device, the passenger is then transferred into a standard airport wheelchair (see FIG. 1) or power chair provided by the airport 62 upon entering the airport terminal 60, while checking a personal mobility device into baggage and cargo, or after going through security checkpoints 64. When the passenger reaches the boarding area 66, he/she is again transferred from a standard airport wheelchair, into a boarding chair or aisle chair (see FIG. 2) at the gate 70, which takes him/her down the sky bridge 68, and/or into the aircraft interior 72. Once the passenger reaches his/her assigned seat, he/she must be lifted from the boarding chair, into an aircraft seat (see FIG. 3) at 71. If a passenger needed to use the lavatory during a flight, they he/she would transfer from an airline seat, into an in-flight wheelchair (a special chair for use in the aisles of the aircraft; see FIG. 4) at 76. When reaching the lavatory, he/she would be lifted from the aisle chair, into the lavatory, or onto a lavatory seat 78. Assuming a passenger on a 16-hour flight would require use of the lavatory more than once, transfers 76 and 78 would be required numerous times, especially during long-haul flights and depending upon individual passenger situations. Upon arriving at the passenger's destination, the entire transfer process 74, 70 would reverse, after baggage handlers retrieve the passenger's personal mobility device from the cargo hold, and subsequently transfers 62 and 68.
If even one physical passenger transfer were eliminated within the travel process required for mobility-impaired persons traveling to a destination via an aircraft, the overall travel experience for a disabled passenger would improve greatly. According to standard airline procedures, when boarding or deplaning, a minimum of two specialized attendants are usually present to assist mobility-impaired passengers during transfers. Due to current liability issues within the physical transfer process, flight attendants are often not permitted to physically assist mobility-impaired passengers in moving into or within the aircraft. Although airlines do provide specially trained service agents or passenger attendants for on-ground physical assistance, flight attendants are usually not permitted to assist in the transfer of a passenger while in-flight, even when passengers request use of the lavatory (with the exception of retrieving the in-flight wheelchair). Physical transfers within the aircraft not only places a barrier between flight attendants and mobility impaired passengers, but it creates another huge responsibility and financial cost (hiring a personal aid and additional ticket costs) that mobility impaired users need to consider, more than any other able-bodied passenger.
Injuries during the physical transfer process have been cited as common occurrences, especially during transfers between a boarding chair and aircraft seat. These injuries concern both passengers and airline staff or passenger attendants (any individual who participates in the task of transferring a passenger, such as an airline employee, a service contractor, or a passengers personal assistant). Within other forms of transportation such as cars, trains, and buses, one approach to lessening the danger experienced during physical passenger transfers has been the modification of vehicles floors and/or vehicle seat frames to receive wheelchairs and/or means for locking the wheelchairs into a generally immobile position. However, wheelchairs themselves are bulky and substantially reduce the number of passengers that can be carried in one vehicle, especially within an aircraft. Other modifications made to wheelchairs may be dangerous in that they ultimately reduce the crashworthiness of the seat itself. Another approach has been the provision of a safety seat much like those used in automobiles to seat small children. However, these seats are primarily useful for infants and very small children and have not been well designed for use by adults or large children.
In 2000, Theradyne (a division of Kurt Manufacturing) and Delta Airlines introduced the first new aircraft accessibility product, in decades. Containing a hydraulic mechanism, which adjusts its height to the height of stationary armrests, the Delta Chair was thought to have revolutionized the standard aisle chair by eliminating strenuous transfers over fixed armrests, making it easier for passengers to slide directly onto the aircraft seat. Although the Delta Chair is helpful in certain circumstances, six years later, only Delta has provided access to the chair, and some of its own employees are still unaware that it exists. The Delta Chair is also aesthetically displeasing (maintaining the same visual qualities of the boarding chair), while preventing to eliminate or even substantially improve or eliminate any physical transfers.
Another problematic area within aircraft interiors for passengers with mobility impairments is in-flight lavatories. Currently, Airlines are required to allocate accessible lavatories only on planes containing more than one aisle. Travel guides provided to mobility impaired users have often recommended wearing diapers, since the transfer process into the lavatory is both problematic and discomforting. Even though some lavatories are considered by airlines accessible, many passengers are still restricted from access. Usually, the in-flight wheelchair is not able to completely fit into the lavatory, along with any other person required for assistance during the transfer. Considering these criteria, a majority of those with mobility impairments sit in coach, and have often been assigned seating in the middle of the plane (away from any lavatory, accessible or not). Not only does a trip to the bathroom require additional assistance from on-board staff as well as an additional transfer, it involves disruption to other passengers, who might need to move from their seats or to assist with the transfer. Accordingly, there is a need for improved access to in-flight lavatories by mobility-impaired persons.
Commercial aircraft passenger seating installation and attachment therein has remained mechanically uniform throughout the aircraft industry. Optimal use of available space coupled with secure and safe connections while maintaining ease of assembly and disassembly are the goals sought in the design of aircraft seat anchors. Aircraft passenger seats are typically constructed from modular components, the size, weight and construction of which are dictated by many considerations, including fuselage dimensions, aesthetic and safety considerations. Many of these requirements are imposed by law or regulation. The lower seat frame is usually constructed of a plurality of leg modules, while the upper seat is constructed of section assembly modules. The leg modules are attached to fixed, spaced-apart attachment points on a supporting surface, such as the deck of an air craft fuselage as shown by seats 98 in FIG. 11A.
Most passenger aircraft use a similar installation system, which includes rigidly attaching a passenger seat assembly or individual aircraft seats to an aircraft fuselage to prevent movement of the seat assembly or aircraft seat during flight and in an event of a collision. During installation, the passenger seat assembly is rigidly attached to an aircraft fuselage via a seat track 120 as shown in FIG. 12A, which extends in fore and aft directions along the length of a passenger, compartment as shown in FIG. 8A. Counterbores 124 exist at periodic increments along the seat track 120 for installation of multiple passenger seat assemblies.
As shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, a seat assembly usually includes a base 126 containing multiple shear plugs 130A. The seat assembly is typically pushed in a downward and forward direction relative to the seat track 120 to insert the shear plugs 130A on the seat assembly into the counterbores 124 in the seat track member 120. As the seat assembly is forced in a forward direction a forward portion of the base is inserted between a seat track upper lip 121 and counterbores 124. The combination of the shear plugs 130A locking within the counterbores 124 and the presence of the upper seat track lips 121 prevents movement of the seat assembly and provides structural restraint of the seats in the airplane.
There are many variations of systems and methods for securing and attaching fixed aircraft seats to track members. One variation involves hand tools, in which seats are secured to the track member by tightening bolts or the like, or by activating internal channels within the track which clamp or lock the track member to the shear plugs of an aircraft seat or seating assembly. Many variations involve the provision of a control lever, which secures the shear plugs of an aircraft seat or seating assembly U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,822 discloses a quick release fitting comprising an outer housing that is keyed to the floor track channel. The outer housing has a bore that houses a rotatable inverted T-shaped key that rotates through a 90-degree angle to engage the underside of the floor channel interior. The T-shaped key has a lever and spring-loaded pin lock that allows the user to manly rotate the key and lock it in position. Other track fittings are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,189,313; 3,620,171; 3,652,050; 3,677,195; 3,810,534; 4,026,218; 4,062,298; 4,109,891; 4,114,94.7; 4,396,175; 4,493,470; 4,509,888; 4,688,843; 4,708,549; 4,718,719; and 4,911,381, the disclosures of each of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Due to demands for more diverse seating configurations and quick installation techniques, new technologies and recent advancements, such as those employed by Textron Inc. in the seat fastening system “Intevia”, include intelligent fastening solutions enabling remote locking and unlocking of fasteners without any physical contact with the fastener. The system features specially designed coupling or fastening mechanism driven by a smart material actuator, which is controlled by an embedded microchip, wherein fastening mechanisms are activated by an instruction rather than an applied physical force through a manipulating tool. Through the embedded microchip, each fastening mechanism has a unique address and can be instructed to lock or release, (i.e., perform the mechanical connection function). In addition, the embedded microchip is capable of reporting mechanism status, controlling the actuation process, as well as sensing and reporting local environmental conditions. Although methods for securing aircraft seats to the fuselage of an aircraft have become and will become more and more complex as the Intevia system, most methods and systems will usually contain a track member and series of counterbores or openings, along with an internal channel.
Due to limited cabin and aisle space within aircraft, and airlines which employ maximum seating capacities or configurations, the implementation of a method or system equivalent to the present invention has been previously unworkable for decades. However, advanced fuel efficient long-haul aircraft currently being designed and manufactured by companies such as Boeing (787 Dreamliner) and Airbus (A380) for commercial use during the year 2007 and thereafter will contain a much higher seating capacity and or overall interior space and fuselage size than current aircraft. This creates alternatives or allows sensitivity to introducing wider aisles and addressing current accessibility issues resulting from current aircraft size and tight cabin configurations, all of which have prevented the previous employment of improved techniques and methods for transferring disabled persons during air travel.